Month: April 2016

Apparently, in a decade and a half Harriet Tubman is going to be on the twenty dollar bill.

Harriet Tubman was great. Not only did she liberate herself from slavery, she helped other people liberate themselves from slavery, and she also fought for her pay as a Union operative in the American Civil War. This makes her an icon not only for women’s rights and for black rights, but for worker’s rights as well. She was utterly fantastic. She deserves to have her face plastered everywhere, including any kind of paper currency. Excuse me, though, if I don’t get all teary eyed over this “achievement” just yet.

Firstly, let’s talk about the legitimacy of money. The only reason there are images on currency is to add the legitimacy of the State to them. Our money is covered with various symbols tying it to the history of the nation – the buildings of US government, for example, the American Eagle, the various Masonic symbols that were held dear by the early Founders of the United States. Conspiracy theories aside, those symbols were added intentionally to add legitimacy to the currency – as symbols have been added to money since money was first minted. On Roman coins you can see the image of the Emperor, for Caesar was the source of all wealth – so it is now; Government, or the Republic, is the source of all wealth. This is the message that is supposed to be inferred from the various symbols on our money.

Talking about the strange, sad, and suspicious death of Fresno activist John Lang – elaborate suicide? Murder from Fresno police or others? Mental health, activism, and police corruption. We sit down and talk with Fresno journalists James Job, of The Fifth Column, and Brian Sumner of Copblock and Fresno People’s Media, both of whom knew John Lang in some capacity.